Tennis News

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The first round bottom half gets started at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday as Eugenie Bouchard takes the court looking to continue her positive momentum.

Thursday
First Round

Stadium 1

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #42) vs. [Q] Risa Ozaki (JPN #125)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Much ink was spilled in 2015 about Eugenie Bouchard’s second-season woes. Ranked as high as No.5, the Canadian ended the year outside of the Top 40 as she struggled to close out matches and string together victories.

But Bouchard seems to have put the past firmly behind her as she rides the momentum of a red-hot resurgence into Indian Wells – she’s made two finals and has won 13 out of 18 matches this year.

“I got here early for the tournament and I was working really hard in practice just trying to improve different areas of my game,” Bouchard said in Kuala Lumpur, where she reached the BMW Malaysian Open final. “I feel like I’ve improved already since last week and for me that’s just my goal right now – to improve every single week.”

Bouchard’s first test comes in the form of Japanese qualifier Risa Ozaki. Though the pair have never played before, Ozaki made her presence known in Kuala Lumpur when she pushed eventual champion Elina Svitolina to three sets in the round of 16.

The winner is set to face No.21 seed Sloane Stephens, whose two titles in 2016 are a WTA-leading figure.

Caroline Garcia (FRA #41) vs. Christina McHale (USA #62)
Head-to-head: McHale leads, 2-1

The first women’s match on Stadium 1 sees Caroline Garcia and Christina McHale battle it out for a chance to face the No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza in the next round.

Both players are coming off of strong showings in Latin America – Garcia made the semifinal in Monterrey and McHale the semifinal in Acapulco. McHale already has one title under her belt though, an ITF 50K she picked up in Maui, while in her last match in Monterrey Garcia struggled against eventual champion Heather Watson as a result of a lower back injury.

Despite the head to head skewing in McHale’s favor, all three of their previous encounters have been unbelievably close; both of McHale’s wins came after three sets, and in Garcia’s straight sets victory, both sets went to a tiebreak.

 Around the grounds…
It’s youth up against experience as Monica Puig faces WTA veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina takes on Daniela Hantuchova. Laura Robson seeks to put her injury woes behind her as she opens against Magdalena Rybarikova.

TOKYO, Japan – Christina McHale produced a stirring comeback to defeat Katerina Siniakova in the final of the Japan Women’s Open Tennis and lift her maiden WTA title.

A semifinalist 12 months ago, McHale looked in store for another near-miss when she trailed Siniakova by a set and a break. However, a timely rain delay and a run of eight straight games turned the match on its head as the American closed out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.

In a match of multiple twists and turns, McHale was very nearly foiled at the last, Sinaikova rallying from 5-2 down to set up a tense conclusion.

Ultimately, McHale’s nerve held steady, completing an emotional victory when Siniakova tugged a backhand wide.

McHale, whose only previous WTA final came at Acapulco in 2014, endured a marathon journey to the winner’s circle, spending over 13 hours on court after going the distance in each of her five matches.

“I don’t even want to put my trophy down – i just want to hold it all the time,” McHale said during the trophy presentation. “I’ve been coming to this tournament for a few years now and I really love it here. Thanks to all the fans and everyone here for sticking through all the rain delays – we’ve had a few, especially today!”

Sinaikova, who also lost in the Bastad final this this summer, was unable to hide her disappointment at witnessing what would have been her first title slip away. “I’m here in the final for the second time and unfortunately it was really tough for me, so I’m a little sad. But Christina played really well, so congratulations to her,” she said.

More to follow…

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Serena Williams wrapped up the top half second round action at the BNP Paribas Open with a straightforward win over German qualifier Laura Siegemund, 6-2, 6-1.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!

Playing in her first match since reaching the final at the Australian Open and in the chilly nighttime conditions in Indian Wells, Williams found herself facing a break point right away in the first game of the match. Siegemund’s variety and a sneaky drop shot tripped her up, but the World No.1 shook off any lingering rust with ease to fend off the early assault.

From then on the match grew increasingly one-sided, with Williams simply outgunning the German qualifier, taking the ball early and attacking from every side of the court. A beautiful backhand down the line brought up set point for the top seed, which she took with one her signature swing volleys.

Siegemund continued to attack and even brought up another chance to break in the first game of the second set, but Williams roared back from 0-40 to brush it aside. Not taking the opportunity ended up being costly for Siegemund, and Williams won five straight games to wrap up the encounter in barely over an hour.

“My intensity was the key,” Williams said in her post-match interview. “[Siegemund] actually started out really strong in that first game when I was serving, she was close to breaking me.

“I knew right then and there if I wasn’t going to come out at 100% it would be a long match.”

Awaiting Williams in the third round is Yaroslava Putintseva, who earlier in the day knocked out the No.27 seed Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4.

The crowd loves @SerenaWilliams! ? ? https://t.co/g0y73sWbBh

— WTA (@WTA) March 12, 2016

Serena Williams will return to No.1 on the WTA Rankings, when they are released on April 24, 2017, when the points from last year’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart drop off.

Two-time defending Stuttgart champion Angelique Kerber will have an immediate chance to return to the top spot by reaching the semifinals of this year’s event, which takes place a week later this year due to a shift in the calendar.

As top seed in Stuttgart, Kerber, who has held the No.1 ranking for 25 weeks, will receive a first round bye, so will need to win two matches to overtake Williams.

The WTA Rankings are based on a 52-week, cumulative system with each players singles ranking determined by 16-best results; WTA Finals participants count points earned as the 17th bonus tournament.

For Williams it will be her 317th week at No.1, the third most in WTA Rankings history behind only Stefanie Graf (377) and Martina Navratilova (332).

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Denisa Allertova played fearless tennis to complete the day’s biggest upset, taking out No.2 seeded Angelique Kerber in straight sets in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!

The No.64-ranked Czech had only notched one win against a Top 5 player in her career, taking out Halep last year in Guangzhou, and was playing in her first main draw match at Indian Wells. But she didn’t let the occasion – or Kerber’s rock solid tennis – get to her.

Things seemed to start off going the way of the reigning Australian Open champion early on in the match, Kerber breaking Allertova in the very first game. The German used her defensive counterpunching to keep giving Allertova one more ball until the Czech began to let the errors loose.

But Allertova quickly set aside any early jitters and settled into her trademark high risk game, employing her vicious angles and changing the pace to keep Kerber second-guessing. She broke right back and kept pace with the World No.2, making every game a long battle.

Just as it seemed like Kerber would serve to send the set into a tiebreak, Allertova employed some of her best tennis of the match to bring up a pair of set points. Kerber erased one with a pinpoint accurate crosscourt backhand, but she couldn’t withstand Allertova’s deadly line-to-line game, being dragged all around the court until getting caught by a passing shot to seal the opening set.

Things started to turn around for Kerber in the second set as the German broke to love to grab a 3-2 lead. That quickly became a 5-3 hole as Kerber found a way to keep Allertova’s high risk game in check; Allertova hit just 12 winners this set, compared to the 25 she hit in the previous one. But she did just enough, breaking twice and knocking out the No.2 seed 7-5, 7-5.

Still soaking it all in, the 23-year-old from Prague could barely put the win into words.

“I just tried to play and just focus on every point, tried moving and playing into the court… I don’t know, I just tried to play my best!” she said in her post-match interview. “Just amazing feelings right now because she’s an amazing player.”

“I tried to play my best and I’m so happy that I won today. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Huge win for Denisa Allertova!

Knocks out Australian Open champ Angelique Kerber! #WTA https://t.co/Wj8JhHSX31

— WTA (@WTA) March 12, 2016

The No.6 seed Carla Suárez Navarro wasn’t so lucky today as she saw herself having to bow out of the tournament due to a right ankle injury.

“I twist my ankle yesterday and today I tried to warm up but I’m not 100%,” Suárez Navarro told wtatennis.com. “So I will try to rest, recover and be ready for Miami.”

She was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Anna-Lena Friedsam, who’s set to square off against Daria Kasaktina of Russia.

TOKYO, Japan – No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova came back from a set down against Lucie Safarova to move into the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open after a two-and-a-half-hour thriller.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Cibulkova drew a tough first-round match against Safarova, last year’s French Open finalist. After suffering a bacterial infection that derailed her season, Safarova has slipped down the rankings and sits at No.43, making her a dangerous floater. But Cibulkova got the job done, edging past the Czech 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Under the roof at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park, Cibulkova pounced on Safarova’s vulnerable second serve to keep her under pressure throughout the first set. But the momentum soon shifted after Safarova finally won a second serve point to bat away Cibulkova’s break point chance. Safarova found another gear, breaking Cibulkova’s serve in the next game with a blistering cross-court backhand return.

Cibulkova rebounded in the second set, floating a drop shot just out of reach to grab an early break for a 3-1 lead. The drop shot was Cibulkova’s go-to weapon throughout the match, employing nine of them during the three sets. A double fault from Safarova cost her a second break as Cibulkova quickly rattled off five games in a row to take the second set.

Both players wrestled with the momentum in the deciding set, trading breaks twice and keeping each other under pressure before Cibulkova finally got the edge at 6-5. She hit her boldest drop shot of the match to clinch the victory after two and a half hours.

A drop shot on match point?!

Pome, @Cibulkova! ? #TorayPPO pic.twitter.com/KipGWe6RAA

— WTA (@WTA) September 20, 2016

Cibulkova sets up a clash with 18-year-old wildcard Naomi Osaka, Japan’s No.2 player and a hometown favorite, in the next round.

2013 champion Petra Kvitova is also through to the next round after scoring a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Madison Brengle.

Kvitova broke the American’s serve three times and fought off six of her chances to ease past her in an hour and thirteen minutes. She’ll take on Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig next for a spot in the quarterfinals.

More to come…